Nearly 75% of US counties lost population last year as deaths outnumbered births

Re:Nearly 75% of US counties lost population last year as de... by BlargMcLarg on Thursday March 24, 2022 @09:58AM (#30789838)

Less births -> less potential workers -> less workers -> less growth. Less growth is the one thing that sets almost every government off, be it micro- or macroeconomic.

It also creates friction politically, as the burden on the working populace increases due to a shift in working/non-working and almost no one wants to change for the worse. See the young vs the elderly and retirement ages, where the elderly will often vote for the young to carry the burden, and vice versa.

Long story short, it creates a situation where things have to change fundamentally or someone has to bite through the sour apple. Governments don't want to do either of these things.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Nearly 75% of US counties lost population last year as de... by beepbooptheory on Thursday March 24, 2022 @10:42AM (#30790536)

This, then, just sounds to me like a great thing: to put pressure on changing things dramatically, through ultimately an existential crisis.

What, really, is humanity doing? What is the point? The idea that our existence itself is ultimately grounded in economic growth feels pretty thin; I imagine it is to even the staunchest capitalists on any reflection.

There to me, is something ultimately embarrassing about this "problem". Its kinda like we invested a lot of time and resources to throw a party, and when only a few people show up, we start to diagnose what's wrong with those people that didn't come, and never once consider that it was a shitty party.

[ Parent | on HN ]